oligarch

noun

ol·​i·​garch ˈä-lə-ˌgärk  ˈō- 

plural oligarchs

1

: a member or supporter of an oligarchy

2

in Russia and other countries that succeeded the Soviet Union : one of a class of individuals who through private acquisition of state assets amassed great wealth that is stored especially in foreign accounts and properties and who typically maintain close links to the highest government circles

But what does it really mean to be a Russian oligarch … ? … in Russian politics, the term first came about in the 1990s to describe a dozen or so powerful men who amassed immense wealth following the collapse of the Soviet Union.

—The Business Insider

The task force will pool the resources of the countries' law enforcement divisions to track down the assets of Russian oligarchs stashed overseas, a difficult task complicated by the opaque or complicated financial instruments frequently used by Russian financial elites to hide their holdings from public view.

—Jeff Stein

… young Armenians, who joined the protests in droves, angry that the same small club of politicians and oligarchs has controlled the country since independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.

—Neil Macfarquhar

Examples of oligarch in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Alicia Vikander plays Baranov’s wife Ksenia, and Tom Sturridge is a banker and oligarch based on former oil and gas baron Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who was jailed after challenging Putin’s grip on power. —Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 15 May 2026

But the simplest path to Universal Basic Vitality is an oligarch tax on individuals like Musk and companies like Meta to lay the groundwork for economic livelihood in the AI age. —Alexander Heffner, Chicago Tribune, 13 May 2026

Vadim traded his artistic calling for a flashy job in a privatized TV station and was then tapped for a political consultancy by the oligarch Boris Berezovsky (Will Keen)—halt! —Richard Brody, New Yorker, 13 May 2026

Tom Sturridge, though, sweeps in to devour the screen as fictional oligarch Dmitri Sidorov, a flashy sort who drives a wedge between Baranov and his romantic interest Ksenia (Alicia Vikander). —Randy Myers, Mercury News, 13 May 2026

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Greek oligárchēs, from olig- olig- + -archēs -arch entry 1, after Greek oligarcheîsthai "to be ruled by an oligarchy," oligarchía oligarchy

First Known Use

circa 1610, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for oligarch

• disembark
• matriarch
• meadowlark
• patriarch
• watermark
• arc
• ark
• bark
• barque
• dark
• hark
• lark